Paropamisus xeric woodlands
{{Short description|Ecoregion in Afghanistan and Tajikistan}}
{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Paropamisus xeric woodlands
|image = Kunduz River valley.jpg
|image_size = 300
|image_alt =
|caption = Kunduz, Afghanistan
|map = Ecoregion PA1322.jpg
|map_size = 300
|map_alt = Ecoregion territory (in purple)
|map_caption = Ecoregion territory (in purple)
|ecozone = Palearctic
|biome = Deserts and xeric shrublands
|animals =
|bird_species =
|borders =
|area = 92804
|country = Afghanistan, Tajikistan
|state =
|region_type =
|elevation =
|coordinates = {{coord|36.25|N|66.75|E|display=title,inline}}
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate =
|soil =
|conservation =
|global200 =
|habitat_loss =
|habitat_loss_ref =
|protected =
|protected_ref =
}}
The Paropamisus xeric woodlands ecoregion (WWF ID: PA1322) covers the portion of northeastern Afghanistan north of the central mountain range and the Hindu Kush Mountains. The name is derived from the Old Persian name for the region, Parupraesanna ("Beyond the Hindu Kush"). While there are low canopy woodlands in the northeast of the ecorgegion, most of the territory is desert or xeric (dry) scrubland.{{cite web|title=Paropamisus xeric woodlands|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1322|publisher=World Wildlife Federation|language=en|access-date=March 21, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Map of Ecoregions 2017|url=https://ecoregions2017.appspot.com/|publisher=Resolve, using WWF data|language=en|access-date=September 14, 2019}}{{cite web|title=Paropamisus xeric woodlands|url=https://dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ecoregion/81322|publisher=Digital Observatory for Protected Areas|language=en|access-date=August 1, 2020}}{{cite web|title=Paropamisus xeric woodlands|url=https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Paropamisus_xeric_woodlands|publisher=The Encyclopedia of Earth|language=en|access-date=August 28, 2020}}
Location and description
The ecoregion stretches for {{convert|1100|km|mi}} across northern Afghanistan, from the city of Herat in the west to the Wakhan Corridor in the east. The territory is on the north slopes of the mountains of central Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush. To the north is the Badghyz and Karabil semi-desert ecoregion, to the south are the Ghorat-Hazarajat alpine meadow and Hindu Kush alpine meadow ecoregions.
The terrain is rugged: elevations range from {{convert|371|m|ft}} to a high point of {{convert|5592|m|ft}}.
Climate
The climate of ecoregion is Cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification (BSk)). This climate is characteristic of steppe climates intermediary between desert humid climates, and typically have precipitation is above evapotranspiration. At least one month averages below {{convert|0|C|F}}.{{cite web |first1=M. |last1=Kottek |first2=J. |last2=Grieser |first3=C. |last3=Beck |first4=B. |last4=Rudolf |first5=F. |last5=Rubel |date=2006 |title=World Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated |url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf |publisher=Gebrüder Borntraeger |language=en |access-date=September 14, 2019}}{{cite web|title=Dataset - Koppen climate classifications|url=https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-maps-k%C3%B6ppen-geiger-climate-classification|publisher=World Bank|language=en|access-date=September 14, 2019}}
Flora and fauna
Over 80% of the ecoregion is dry shrub. Another 8% is cultivated in crop agriculture (mostly along river valleys), and another 8% is sparse vegetation or bare ground. Common vegetation is thornbush, Ziziphus, and Acacia. There are areas of woodland in the northeast of the ecoregion in Badakhshan Province, featuring wild almond, pistachio, willow, and buckthorn trees. There are no endemic vertebrates, but the isolated areas support a range of non-endemic threatened and endangered species, including the near threatened Argali (Ovis ammon), the vulnerable Goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa), the endangered Kulan (Equus hemionus), the near threatened Mountain weasel (Mustela altaica), and near threatened Sand cat (Felis margarita).
Protected areas
Less than 1% of the ecoregion is officially protected.{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|author-link1=:de:Eric Dinerstein|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|author-link6=Eric Wikramanayake|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|author-link10=Reed Noss|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|author-link12=Harvey Locke|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C.|author-link13=Erle Ellis|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|author-link18=Vance Martin|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Secrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|author-link24=Kieran Suckling|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|author-link39=Shahina A. Ghazanfar|last40=Timberlate|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=3|date=2017-04-05|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|pages=534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|doi-access=free|pmc=5451287|pmid=28608869|issn=0006-3568}} These protected areas include the Dashti-Jum Nature Reserve in Tajikistan.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons-inline||Paropamisus xeric woodlands}}
{{Palearctic desert and xeric shrubland ecoregions}}
Category:Palearctic ecoregions
Category:Ecoregions of Afghanistan